RIVER FISH AND FISHING. 391 
be cut off, and the head and shoulders to be then obliquely 
sliced off with a sharp knife. When this is done, the tail- 
end is to be used forward—that is, nearest the rod, and is 
then made to appear as the head of a fish. In this mode 
the shiner, bream, or other small fish may be prepared, when 
the parr is not to be found; and they answer well for 
large trout or pike. But nothing takes so completely and 
generally as a good minnow of the proper size, requiring 
no paring, and fitting the hooks exactly, so as to allow the 
one to project slightly through the tail, while the other 
closes the mouth. Some other modes are described as 
useful variations in adapting dead fish-baits, but I believe 
the double or treble hook, as above, will suit all purposes 
where the bait is required to spin rapidly, whether it be 
the entire fish, or part, as already mentioned. The 
shiner, bream, or roach may be divided in the same way as 
the parr, and will spin remarkably well when used as he 
recommends that little fish to be employed; as will also 
the perch itself when deprived of its back fin, or any of 
the smaller fish which are attractive to the pike. All 
these various hooks require swivel-traces, single or double, 
which will be found described under the head of pike- 
fishing. 
